


Robin Origins: The Girl in the Dark

by Unique_Jenny



Series: Girl! Robins [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batfamily (DCU), Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Father-Daughter Relationship, Female Dick Grayson, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Sad with a Happy Ending, Survivor Guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-03-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:21:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23233162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unique_Jenny/pseuds/Unique_Jenny
Summary: Girl! Robins origins: Female Dick Grayson editionNine-years old Dixie Grayson was trying to adapt her new life in the Wayne Manor after her parents were murdered at her last performance. She was uncertain if Bruce Wayne was good enough to be her new father.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne
Series: Girl! Robins [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1670425
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	Robin Origins: The Girl in the Dark

Dixie’s eyes could not stop looking at the gorgeous manor as the car slowly drove into the estate. It looked like one of those grand houses on TV where rich people spent their day by the poolside while an English butler served them fancy drinks. She was going to live in this place for a year. Wait, no! It could be a month or a week. The little girl had a feeling that she was not going to like this temporary home. Its grey tone emitted an aura of isolation and inhospitality, in contrast to the warm, bright colors of her old family trailer. 

The driver, Commissioner Gordon parked his car in front of the main entrance. Dixie’s arms clutched tightly on her mini blue bag-pack. She had no idea what the man was going to do with her, a child whom he just met one time in the circus. From the welfare center, she heard many rumors about him, some said he disliked children; some said he was a busy man; some said he was looking for a wife. The last one might not be true, but who knows? She had seen the news about rich men marrying young girls, although deep down she did not want that to happen. 

“Don’t be afraid, Dixie,” Gordon said with a warm smile on his face. “Mr. Wayne is a good person. He may be young but I can guarantee that you will be in good hands.”

Dixie tilted her head up and slightly nodded her head to the older man. She unbuckled herself and jumped out of the vehicle. Waiting for the Commissioner to fetch her luggage from the trunk, they walked towards the door together and pressed the doorbell. They waited until an old man in a smart black and white suit opened the door. 

“Hello Alfred,” Gordon casually greets the man. “I’m assuming Bruce is inside the manor?”

“Of course,” Alfred replied. “Come in, Master Bruce is expecting you.”

“Oh, before that!” Gordon exclaimed. “Alfred, this is Rachel Grayson. She goes by Dixie.” 

“Hello,” Dixie meekly waved her hand. Alfred examined the girl, then muttered a few words like ‘poor girl’ and ‘Master Bruce’.

“And Dixie. Meet Alfred Pennyworth, the butler.” 

Dixie gasped. An English butler! Now all Dixie had to look for was Mr. Wayne in his swimming trunks waiting for them in the swimming pool while holding a glass of blue liquid. 

Following the butler, Dixie slowly made her way into the mansion. She glanced through the exquisite antiques and drawings along the hallway while trying not to break any of them. Alfred brought them into a spacious room which was filled with shelves of books and some old-fashioned velvet cushions. What caught Dixie’s attention was a huge portrait of a smiling couple, around her parents’ age, hung subtly above the fireplace. They must be Mr. Wayne’s parents. She heard that they had passed away many years ago, but she had no idea how they died. 

“Thank you for bringing Rachel here, Jim.”

Dixie turned her head to find Bruce Wayne standing near the entrance. The girl was astonished that he was not half-naked or holding any drinks. Instead, he had a white button-up shirt on and there were files attached underneath his armpit. Compared to the last time she saw him in the circus, he looked less weary and ruffled. 

Gordon chuckled, “You know this is not my first time handling this type of case, eh?”

Mr. Wayne then knelt down to Dixie’s height and stretched his hand out. 

“Hello Rachel, welcome to Wayne Manor. Call me Bruce, if you feel comfortable.” Mr.Way-Bruce said in a gentle tone. Dixie’s eyes fixed on his worried blue eyes, which reminded her of that night when he pulled her into his lap to shield her away from the horrid scene. Carefully, she shook Bruce’s hand. 

“I-I’m R-Dixie,” she said. It’s nice to meet you.”

Dixie gave him a weak smile, trying to establish a friendly relationship with him. Mommy used to tell her that her smile would light up the entire world, and the best way to give someone a good impression. 

“Well, I think it’s time for me to leave,” Gordon stated. “There’s stuff for me to investigate in the GCPD.” 

Bruce quickly rose from the ground. “Alright, Jim. Thanks again for everything. If you have found any leads to Tony Zucco, please update me as soon as you can.”

“Sure do!” Gordon replied as he made his way to the exit, accompanied by Alfred. 

For the rest of the evening, Bruce took Dixie a personal tour around the manor. He introduced her to the drawing-room (The room where she met Bruce. Who called that now anyway?), the dining room, the kitchen, the backyard with beautiful flowers and shrubs (A pity that there was no swimming pool), the well-equipped gym room, and the study room. 

Dixie usually would question Bruce about random things, like the name of the pretty statue near the foundation and why did he need a long dining table when they were only Alfred and him living in the manor, but her heart could not focus much on the tour. The name of Tony Zucco still echoed in her head like a broken recorder. Dixie remembered his eyes burning with madness when he threatened the manager to ruin the performance if Mr. Haly did not pay him protection money. She knew she was under the protection of GCPD and Bruce, but what if he managed to find her and kill her like he did to her parents? 

The tour ended with Bruce taking her to a spacious bedroom which was about fifth the size of her original trailer, with an attached bathroom that could fit two grown elephants. 

“This would be your bedroom,” Bruce said. “Alfred already had your luggage placed here,” 

Dixie took off her shoes and climbed up the bed. Once she lied down, the quill sunk a little which made her body jiggled. Her long dark locks spread out like a peacock’s tail that contrasted the white tone of the covers. The sheets had a fragrant jasmine smell that Dixie could not help but to sniff into it. 

“How do you feel about this place?” Bruce asked. 

“It’s good.”

“Dinner will be served at 7.30. Feel free to clean yourself or venture around the manor.” 

The man told her before leaving Dixie alone in the room. She looked up to the ceiling, staring at it with a blank mind. It was painted light blue, complementing her eye color. It would look better if there were white clouds. She wondered if she could fly in that blue sky, taking her to various places like she used to with the circus crew. It would be better if she had wings, so she could leave whenever she wished. 

Dixie soon felt her bones became lighter, and lighter, to the point that her body began to levitate from the bed. She found herself floating in the air. Imitating a bird, she spread her arms and flapped them in sync. She began to glide in freestyle; sometimes she would go a little lower near to the land, and sometimes she would get higher to the atmosphere. Dixie giggled non-stop at herself. It had been a while since she felt this much joy! 

_ Dixie, baby, don’t wander too far! Come back here! _ She heard her Mommy calling out for her. She and Daddy were waving their hands at the other side, signaling Dixie to come over. The girl gleefully flapped her arms to reach her parents as fast as she could. She wanted to dive herself into their bodies and fly around the world together. 

BANG!

The girl reflexively covered her ears at the loud noise. A few seconds later, she saw her parents rapidly descended to the ground, like fallen angels who had lost their wings. Dixie tried to speed herself up so she could catch up to them. Yet there was an invisible force pulling her back, preventing her to go forward. She wanted to stop them from falling to the ground, but she was struggling to free herself from the restricted movement. 

Out of fear, she screamed out:

“Daddy! Mommy! No!”

Dixie quickly opened her eyes. She found herself drenched in cold sweats that had left a mark on the pillow. She clutched her chest to soothe her impulsive beating heart, with her other hand wiping the liquid off her forehead. The sky was already dark, with the sound of bats screeching outside the window. She could not see around the lightless room, where dark shadows hovering around like monsters. There was no one around to illuminate the room and hush her to sleep. 

Dixie let her tears wet the covers. She had been holding up the tears for the past few days. Now it all streamed down from her puffy red eyes. She was all alone in this cold, dark world. Everyone around her seemed distant and unfriendly. Mr. Haly did not want her to be a part of the crew, the children in the welfare center were making fun of her for being a circus brat. She was not sure if Bruce really wanted to keep her, but there was a high chance she would be given away to another family after they were done with Zucco’s case. 

There was a hurried footstep approaching the room and Bruce opened the door with an excessive force. He instantly turned on the light and approached the bed. 

“Oh, Dixie!” Bruce exclaimed. “I heard you screamed. What happened?”

“I had a bad dream…” Dixie muttered. “It’s my parents.” 

The girl’s squeaky voice made Bruce sat down beside her on the bed and listened to the words she said. 

“It feels like someone presses the replay button and I’ve to see my parents fall to the ground, over and over again…I miss them. If I…if I had told them about Tony Zucco-”

Dixie let out a loud wail of anguish, caring less about the tears that came out from her eyes. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, and she could hear her heartbeat that began to pump faster. She never cried this hard before, especially in front of someone she barely knew. It was quite embarrassing but she could not help it. 

The next thing she felt was a pair of large arms wrapping around her, attempting to calm the girl down.

“It’s not your fault, Dixie,” Bruce whispered while stroking her hair. “You’re still a child.”

“But I could have just warned Mommy and Daddy!” Dixie cried out. “I knew Tony Zucco was up to no good but I didn’t say a word about him.”

Bruce looked into the distance with sadness in his eyes. He sighed and spoke softly: “I know how much you want to save them. The terror, regrets, anger, sadness, all bottled up in your heart. Because you survived, you keep telling yourself: ‘If I can do something, if I can go back in time and do something.’” 

The man wiped a rogue tear from Dixie’s cheek and continued: “Someday the murderer will get captured, and get the punishment for his own wrongdoings. What you should do now is to continue to live your own for your parents’ sake. I’m sure they don’t want you to live in grief forever.” 

The girl did not understand much, but somehow, she felt a connection between her and the man ——the loss of their parents. She remembered Bruce took a few glances at the portrait of the couple when he was talking to her. He probably went through the same feelings as hers when they died, but he managed to mask himself from the misery and showed the world his reputation as the billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. 

“Can I ask you something?” Dixie timidly asked in a squeaky voice. 

“Yes?”

“Are you-” she stopped herself, trying to find the right words. “Am I going to be…sent away? After the police caught Tony Zucco?” 

“No. You won’t,” Bruce said. “In fact, I am considering taking you in.”

“As a family?”

The man grinned. “Yeah, as a family.” 

Dixie’s face beamed up with hope. This could be her chance to have another family. She would try to behave and not causing trouble or else Bruce would change his mind. After all, he was a good man. 

“Do you want to eat?” 

Dixie shook her head, “Not hungry at the moment. I’m tired. Haven’t been sleeping well in the welfare center.”

“If you feel hungry in the middle of the night, just ask for Alfred. He will help you heat up your dinner.” 

“Okay.”

Bruce carefully detached himself from the little girl, but Dixie clutched on his sleeves, refusing to let him go. 

“Bruce?”

“Yes?”

“Can you…sing a lullaby?” Dixie whispered. “My Mommy used to sing for me…during bedtime.”

The man smiled. “I’ll try.”

Bruce softly hummed a tune. Dixie could not recognize the name but it somehow soothed her. Her eyelids became heavier as the song progressed until her eyes were shut tight. She was safe and sound in her new home, no longer trapped in the dark. 

**Author's Note:**

> Oof, first work updated.   
> Apparently our country is having a lockdown for 14 days so we have to stay indoors. I am writing this to brush up my writing skills and also get myself familiarised with the Batfam characters (I'm new to the fandom btw).


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